What happens to Joel in The Last of Us: Part 2 Remastered?

One of the most striking characters of the last decade, Joel Miller became known both to fans of The Last of Us and to those who don’t follow the series closely. Although he stopped being the protagonist of its second part, he and your deeds are important to understanding Ellie’s journey and her decisions.

To understand the second game, it is necessary to explore the character’s past, to understand why he is one of the central points of its plot. Therefore, be aware of the fact that we deal with some pretty shocking spoilers that can change your experience when playing the game or watching the next season of the HBO series.

Born in 1981, Joel spent his adult life working as a carpenter alongside his brother Tommy, whilst playing the role of single father to his daughter Sarah. The character had plans to start his own business when, on his 32nd birthday, his world was transformed by the fungal pandemic that infected more than 60% of the world’s population.

Hardened by tragedy

On the night that the city of Austin and much of the United States fell, Joel had to deal with the tragic fate of his daughter. She is shot by a soldier who opens fire on her and her father, and her death causes her father to transform into a cold and brutal person in a world overrun by infected.

20 years later, Joel works as a smuggler who accepts the mission to take young Ellie out of Boston’s military-dominated protection zone. Shortly afterwards, he discovers what is so special about the young woman: even though she was bitten, she did not develop the deadly fungi that control other people.

Joel has a very tragic storySource: Disclosure/PlayStation

Although a lot goes wrong in the mission, which turns out to be longer than expected, the protagonist does not abandon it. During the months in which he continues his search for the Vagalume group, Joel and Ellie end up establishing a relationship that goes beyond friendship and awakens paternal feelings in the character.

As the end of the mission approaches, Joel begins to consider the young woman almost like a daughter, which brings back memories of Sarah and a strong protective instinct. Upon discovering that those who hired him intend to kill the young woman in an operation that will extract the cure from her body, revolt takes over the smuggler.

In the final moments of The Last of Us, he kills several members of the Fireflies and leaves with the girl (unconscious due to preparation for his operation). When she awakens, the protagonist lies and says that the group no longer needed her, as she was unable to help with the cure. When the credits roll, it’s not clear whether the young woman really believed the story.

Joel em The Last of Us: Parte 2

The Last of Us: Part 2 takes place four years after the events of the first game and shows Joel and Ellie living in Jackson, a community with dozens of survivors. Time and some discoveries made the characters move away and live separately.s.

The character’s fate is sealed during a patrol mission, right at the beginning of the game, in which he and Tommy face a horde of infected and rescue a young girl known as Abby. She guides them to a mansion where some of her friends are sheltering, which promises to be a place protected from the blizzard that is falling.

Joel has a tragic fateSource: Disclosure/PlayStation

Although they are initially well received, tension soon takes over as Joel and his brother introduce themselves. Suddenly, Abby shoots the character in the leg with a shotgun, while her allies confront Tommy and leave him unconscious.

Showing that she already knows who the duo were, the young woman begins to torture Joel, trying hard to keep him from losing consciousness. Just after, Ellie arrives at the scene and finds her father figure in a bloodied state. and unable to get up.

Unable to resist Abby’s group, she can only watch as the young woman delivers the final blow to the former smuggler with a golf club, escaping with her group shortly thereafter. Shortly after the funeral that takes place the next day, Ellie swears that she won’t leave things like that and sets out on a journey to get her revenge — a central part of the events of The Last of Us: Part 2.

It is important to highlight that, although the character’s death occurs at the beginning of the game, Joel appears several times during the journey in The Last of Us Part 2. The smuggler appears in moments of Ellie’s flashbacks, guaranteeing several exciting scenes during the journey.

These events should serve as the basis for the second season of the HBO series, which may bring some adaptations and changes. The episodes will only premiere in 2025, but a specific date has not yet been announced.